Pupils from Longdean School perform their Christmas production Loserville and below pupils from Bridgewater School in Berkhamsted perform at their Christmas concert

Published:08:15Sunday 21 December 2014

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Festive musical treats at primary school concert

Pupils from Bridgewater School in Berkhamsted perform at their Christmas concert

More than 100 pupils from Bridgewater Primary School in Berkhamsted performed in a successful Christmas concert in the school hall.

The audience were entertained by music from the school choir, orchestra, guitar band, percussion club, glockenspiel choir and senior vocalists as well as smaller instrumental ensemble groups.

The performers all dressed in black and white ‘concert dress’ for the occasion.

The orchestra, whose youngest player was an eight-year-old violinist entertained the audience with ‘Carol of the Drum’ featuring three solo drummer boys plus the rousing tune ‘Heigh Ho’ featuring several energetic dwarfs.

The choir sang music ranging from the relaxing carol ‘Starlight’ to a rousing performance of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.’

Primary school choir start Christmas early

Pupils from St Thomas More Catholic Primary School iand Nursery in Berkhamsted have been bringing Christmas cheer to the town.

The 20-strong choir, aged between seven and 11 have been busy performing at a number of events including at a Carols by Candlelight service at Sacred Heart Church.

The choir sang music including ‘Let it Snow’ and ‘Let it Go’ from Disney film Frozen.

Headteacher Isabel Cerasale said: “It was wonderful to be part of a moving evening for such a worthy cause.”

The choir’s festive season started with the opening of the school’s Christmas Bazaar before they were singing again for the Candlelight Club at their Christmas lunch.

Longdean musical goes down a treat

Musical Loserville performed by students from the Performing Arts faculty at Longdean School has proved a winner with audiences.

The musical, written by former Busted member James Bourne was first presented at Longdean by four local primary schools in a matinee and went down a treat.

Following the matinee the students worked tirelessly and performed the show at The Lion Theatre.

The musical went down a storm and was received extremely well by lively and supportive audiences on all three nights.

The musical followed computer geek Michael Dork and his misfit friends Lucas, Marvin and Francis who are ridiculed and bullied because they don’t fit in and go against the ‘norm’.

When new girl Holly arrives in town, all of Michael’s dreams seem to be coming true, but it all gets rather complicated as rich kid Eddie discovers Holly’s secret and plans to ruin Michael’s happiness.

The musical was a fun story with loud, lively music interspersed throughout and it was all set in a 1970s American high school.

The cast, band, stage, lighting and sound crews were all made up of Longdean students who had been working hard for several months ahead of the performances.

Schoolboy wins regional Prince’s Trust high achiever award

A student from the Dacorum Education Support Centre (DESC) in Grovehill, Hemel Hempstead has won the Prince’s Trust Educational Achiever of the Year Award for the East.

Daniel Rogers was chosen for the award after overcoming various health and personal issues to become a role model for others and gain a place at college.

At 11, Daniel was told he would never run or play football again after several illnesses were diagnosed.

Frustration combined with the side effects of medication led to behaviour issues and he eventually stopped attending school.

Daniel joined the XL programme at DESC as part of a full time education programme designed to give him hope and opportunities in the future.

He flourished and has developed into a mature role model and ambassador.

Daniel said: “They were just understanding on the Prince’s Trust and I knew they cared.

“That made such a difference.

“I have made my mum proud and I am now proud of myself”.

Daniel has now been put forward to the national awards, a feat never before achieved by a DESC student.

It was also the third year in a row that a student from the centre had won the award.

Headteacher Sara Lalis said: “The XL Programme at DESC has been running for three years now.

“The award was won in 2012 by Sean Duddle and in 2013 by Nadine Rowe.

“Never in a million years did we think we would win it for a third year running.

“It is testament to the exceptional programme and superb staff team.”

The programme delivered by Julie Wilcox and Tara Noble aims to equip students with a range of interpersonal skills to enable them to work effectively as a team as well as developing essential life skills.

Pupils pay visit to the wild west for their Christmas production

The middle school children from Westbrook Hay Prep School in Hemel Hempstead paid a virtual visit to the wild west for their Christmas production of “Ye-Ha!”, a wild musical comedy.

Mad Dog McNut (played by Maddison Horton age eight) and his gang are running wild and Wilbur Hubbard (played by James Ripley aged eight), cowardly cook at the Fordoor Saloon and land the job no-one wants.

Sheriff of Splodge. luckily for Wilbur, Billie-Jo Brisket (played by Maya Delyfer age eight) rolls into town to lend a hand.

Suddenly the race is on to save the town, not just from Mad Dog, but also Mayor Tex Truman (played by Henry Maidoh age nine) who is not all he seems.

Class teacher and director of Ye-Ha Charlotte Doyle said: “I’m delighted with how all the children performed.

“The children in year two provided a wonderful chorus and the year three and four children learnt their songs beautifully and worked so hard learning all their lines.”